Alabama remained No. 1 in the AP Top 25 presented by Regions Bank released Tuesday, receiving 44 of 63 first-place votes from the media panel and 1,552 points. The Bulldogs closed the gap on the Crimson Tide after beating Oregon 49-3 on Saturday. Georgia received 17 first-place votes. Ohio State dropped to No. 3 and received two first-place votes. Michigan moved up four spots to No. 4. Clemson fell to No. 5. Florida debuted at No. 12 after a thrilling home win over Utah on Saturday night. The Utes fell six spots to No. 13 after the loss. Rounding out the top 10 was Texas A&M at No. 6, followed by Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Baylor and Southern California. USC is in the top 10 for the first time since the last poll of the 2017 regular season, when the Trojans were eighth. The eighth-ranked Fighting Irish fell three spots out of the top five after losing 21-10 at Ohio State. POLL POINTS Georgia has been ranked No. 1 or No. 2 in 15 of the last 17 polls, with the other two weeks at No. 3. Since 2017, Georgia has been ranked No. 2 in the country 13 times and No. 1 nine times, all of last season. From 1981 — the season after Georgia won the national title — through 2016, the Bulldogs were ranked in the top two a total of 10 times. IN — Florida’s jump from unranked to No. 12 is the largest for an unranked team since the first poll of the 2016 regular season, when Texas moved to No. 11 and Wisconsin to No. 10 after back-to-back wins week. — No. 24 Tennessee is ranked for the first time under second-year coach Josh Heupel. OUTSIDE — Oregon’s humbling loss to Georgia dropped the Ducks to the bottom of the standings. It’s the first time Oregon has been unranked in a poll it was eligible for since the 2020 AP Top 25 final regular season. — Cincinnati bounced back from a one-touchdown loss at Arkansas, its first regular-season loss since late in the 2019 season. For the Bearcats, who made the College Football Playoff last year, they had 45 consecutive poll appearances, which was the fifth-longest active streak in the country. CONFERENCE CALL Florida and Tennessee entering the rankings give the SEC eight ranked teams, the most for a conference since the SEC had eight three times in 2020. The record for ranked teams from a conference is 10 by the SEC at the start of the 2018 season. From 2011-18, the SEC had eight teams ranked in an AP Top 25 a total of 14 times. SEC – 8 (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 12, 16, 20, 22, 24). ACC — 5 (Nos. 5, 15, 17, 18, 23). Big Ten — 4 (Nos. 3, 4, 14, 19). Big 12 — 3 (Nos. 7, 9, 11). Pac-12—2 (No. 10, 13). Independents — 2 (No. 8, 21). American — 1 (No. 25). RANKED vs. RANKED No. 9 Baylor at No. 21 BYU. Future Big 12 matchups. No. 20 Kentucky at No. 12 Florida. The first time both will be ranked when playing since 2007. No. 24 Tennessee at No. 17 Pitt. The first SEC/ACC ranked non-conference game of the season.
Follow Ralph D. Russo on and listen at http://www.appodcasts.com
More AP College Football: and Subscribe to the AP College Football Newsletter:
